California workplace seating suits, cont’d

AP: “Nearly every national [retail] chain is under legal attack in California for failing to provide ‘suitable seating’ for cashiers and other employees who are expected to spend most of their work day on their feet.” For more on recent plaintiff victories under California’s distinctive bounty-hunting labor law, see this April link.

2 Comments

In my years representing Woolworth, I would have these laws raised in some jurisdictions (NYC, HY State, MA, RI, to name but a few.) There were jump seats behind the old service counters, NEVER used in anyone’s memory, and for a while, to placate local codes, they were placed near the ends of self service counters. These, too, were never used, and soon were abandoned. The employee lounges provided seats, and most local authorities accepted them, as they were readily accessible to the employees.
These laws were considered part of the packages of women’s “protective laws” that were neutered by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.